When the Bunnies Attack
by Tally-Ally
Summary: Drabbles of little scenes that sometimes wander into my head.
1. Chapter 1

I don't own Merlin, though I'd love to. Anyone want to buy the rights for me?

A drabble, because I felt like there weren't enough fics where Merlin just tells Arthur, without any threat looming over their heads.

I might use this as an outlet for all the little plot bunnies swimming around in my head about Merlin.

"Do you trust me, Arthur?" Merlin asked, fiddling a piece of grass in his hands. It was a beautiful summer day, the sky clear, the sun shining bright. They were out hunting, of course, just the two of them, though even Arthur seemed to not be in the mood. A few hours after they sat out, the two found a clearing in the forest, and decided to take a break.

"What?" Arthur asked, confused. Sure, Merlin was his servant, but anyone who knew the two would know they were friends.

"Do you trust me," Merlin repeated, looking straight at Arthur.

For a second, Arthur considered answering with a witty retort, something he deemed brilliant and amazing, but the serious look on Merlin's face stopped him.

"Of course," he said instead, still wondering what came over his friend.

"Do you think I'm evil? Unloyal? A threat?"

This time, Arthur couldn't help but laugh, "Merlin, you're loyal to a fault, and your kindness has half of Camelot smitten. I doubt you have one evil speck in your entire being."

"Arthur," Merlin started, but bit his tongue. Was this really how he was going to do it? Should today be the day he lays it all on the line, letting Arthur decide his fate? Sure, if Arthur reacted badly, he could always wipe his memory, or flee Camelot, but deep down, Merlin knew he'd do neither. He looked up at the sky.

"Arthur, what would you do if I told you I was born with magic, destined to be the most powerful warlock time has seen?"

"Well," Arthur started, trying to pick his words, and hide the smile that dying to come out. So Merlin was finally ready. Arthur really wanted to hug the servant, happy that he was finally ready to trust Arthur. "Officially, of course, I'd have to report you to my father, and watch your execution the following morning."

A flicked of fear passed across Merlin's features.

"But, then again," Arthur continued, no longer able to hold the smirk back, "Executions are rather messy things, and personally, I can't say I'd enjoy watching another one. No to mention the time it would take to find another servant, one who would be able to befriend the knights the way you did. Especially one who could get my armor so shiny and save my hide more times than I probably know…"

He looked at Merlin, who was now carefully watching the prince, smile on his face.

"I'm sorry, Merlin, but that's really not enough going to work," he said, watching the grin on his friend's face double in size. "Looks like you're stuck polishing my armor."


	2. Chapter 2

My smoke breaks just became productive..

Sorry about the 3 uploads... The function is being dumb.

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><p>Standing on the rooftop, Merlin overlooked the city below him. Everything had changed. The world no longer held honor and pride, a man's word wasn't worth anything anymore. Kings and queens were something of a mock symbol now, a symbol of an outdated time, a reminder of the times past.<p>

Nothing was the same.

But he could still remember the good times. He could still remember the day he finally confessed to Arthur that he was a warlock. He could still remember his friend standing by him, even though the king was set on execution. He could still remember Arthur's coronation, and the wedding that followed soon after. He could still remember Lancelot, happy for his friend, yet sad for Gwen has caught his eye as well. He could still remember Gwaine at taverns, his habits never hindering him from helping out a friend in need. He could still see Gaius making potions, trying to help anyone in need.

But it was all gone now.

The Knights of the Round Table were nothing more than a myth, a story. His entire existence, his friends, his family, free to be told and retold, reinterpreted, and displayed on televisions and movie screens.

Arthur would laugh if he could see it now.

He had spent decades, centuries, all alone now. His friends long gone while he remained.

And it wasn't fair.

He had fulfilled his destiny. Arthur had become the greatest King time had seen, Merlin at his side every step of the way.

Magic had returned to the lands, only to be drained by the test of time.

So why was he still here?

His heart yearned to move on from this place. To rejoin his friends in the thereafter, to find peace he had been unable to find in life, to see Freya again, and to finally get to spend all time with her.

Life wasn't fair.

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><p>And now back to designing multipliers.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Merlin looked around, trying to figure out the closest exit. But his friends had no intention of letting him leave, none at all. In fact, they seemed well prepared, blocking off any route to freedom that Merlin could think of, short of simply disappearing on the spot.

_This is nonsense,_ Merlin thought to himself, _I'm overreacting. Surely, there's a reason that Gwaine and Arthur had corner him in his room, so early in the morning. Early morning…Gaius isn't here! This is a trap!_

"What do you guys want?" Merlin asked, trying to hide the unease. They were his friends. He was being silly, and paranoid, and surely there was a logical explanation as to why both men suddenly appeared in his room.

"We just want to talk, Merlin," Gwaine said, and Merlin knew he was in trouble. There was no way Gwaine would be up this early to simply 'talk'. No, that's what late afternoons are for.

"About what?" Merlin asked, trying to keep his voice light and carefree.

"Do you trust us, Merlin?" Arthur asked.

"Of course," he answered without hesitance. Had they gone crazy? Is there another sorcerer amiss, playing with his friends brains?

"Do you think we're stupid?" Arthur continued.

Bollocks, maybe Arthur's been hit on the head too many times. He should've known that it would lead to no good.

"No…?"

"Then what is the bloody problem, Merlin?" Gwaine asked.

"What are you talking about?" Merlin asked, confused. Spells, spells, surely he knew some basic counter enchantments that worked for everything.

"I've known you for years, now, _Mer_lin, surely you can't think me so blind as to not have noticed?"

"And I've seen you fight off men twice your size without a scratch, without nothing, just because I'm drunk, doesn't mean I don't pay attention."

"Courage, strength, and _magic_, _Mer_lin, you can't think we're stupid enough to think that one of us is the magic, there, do you?"

"Oh," Merlin was dumbfounded. What did they want? Did they come to tell him that they knew who he was? "Did you guys come in here just to tell me that you've finally caught on? It's about time. Especially you, Arthur, I've been saving your hide for years now."

Arthur groaned, while Gwaine just threw his hands in the air.

"Seriously? That's it?" Gwaine asked. "We woke up at an ungodly hour for that?"

"What did you guys expect?" Merlin asked, still trying to figure out how valid his theory of them being enchanted was.


	4. Chapter 4

_Just close your eyes,_ he told himself.

_Tomorrow's another day, you can deal with it then, _he tried to clear his mind, but his thoughts kept returning to his servant.

But he could recognize even that statement to be a lie. Merlin wasn't just his servant. Things would be easier if he could believe that, but Arthur was never good at lying to himself. No, even if he'd never publically admit it, Merlin was his friend. His _best_ friend. Merlin was the one person Arthur could trust to tell him the truth, to honestly state an opinion, and to treat him as a _person_ instead of a prince. And that meant more to Arthur then the world could ever know.

He was used to people treating him as a prince, laughing at his jokes when they weren't funny, putting up with him being a prat… Few dared to ever say anything, and none repeating the feat twice. Until Merlin. The first thing the idiot did when he got to Camelot was spend a night in the cells, locked up for making fun of Arthur. And by the next morning, he was fighting Arthur, prince or not.

Arthur respected Merlin for that.

After Merlin saved his life, the two were almost forced together by Uther. At first, Arthur hated it. But as time grew, he started to regard it as the best present his father ever gave him – an inadvertent friend Arthur could always count on.

But of course, things could never be easy – or could they?

After all, nothing could change the fact that Merlin saved his life countless times, that he has been a shoulder Arthur could always count on, that in the end, Merlin would always be by his side, protecting him, and never asking for anything in return.

The last thing he had ever expected to find out was that Merlin was a sorcerer.

Not that it mattered, at least not in the way anyone would expect it to. No, the thought of turning Merlin in never ever occurred to him, Arthur could never think that Merlin was evil. That notion was absurd. And it had hurt that his friends had considered that possibility, but not nearly as much as the fact that Merlin had, as well.

Truth was – Arthur was angry. He was angry at Merlin for lying, he was mad at Lancelot for not telling him, and he was angry at himself. He kicked himself three times over for not noticing it. He was the crowned prince, for Christ's sake. If he couldn't noticed that someone who was by his side almost every minute of every day had magic, what was he blind to? How could he hope to be a fair king if he couldn't even tell that Merlin was hiding something?

He felt so stupid. He should've paid attention to the way Merlin had never been hurt. The way magical beasts that shouldn't die, did; the way he "slayed a dragon". What a pile of rubbish that turned out to be. How many more details had he missed? How many times did he accept Merlin's explanations without a second thought, not bothering to see that they didn't add up?

He took a deep breath, trying to push the thoughts away.

But of course, they had no intentions of leaving.

What a crummy friend he turned out to be. He couldn't even tell that his best friend was hurting – hurting over the loss of his father, hurting over the loss of someone he would've come to love, and hurting over having to hide himself from those around him. If there was a worst friend ever award, he was surely the crowned winner, with no competition.


	5. Chapter 5

I've been watching BtVS, and Giles is just… Such a perfect father figure. Which made me think of Uther, and a shred of hope for him.

Merlin fidgeted, trying to figure out exactly what he did that warranted a summon from Uther. As far as he could remember, he hadn't broken anything or caused any problems in a while. Arthur was accounted for, and hasn't even been hurt this week (this really did shock Merlin, usually Gaius patches him up at least once a week).

And yet there he was, alone, with the King of Camelot, Uther Pendragon.

He could feel the Uther's gaze on him, and Merlin found it difficult to not shudder. He didn't like the penetrating gaze.

"Sire?" he asked when the silence finally got unbearable.

"Merlin, I have a personal request for you. But I must ask that anything that is said in this room remains confidential."

"Yes, Sire," Merlin agreed, confusion replacing some of the fear.

"Arthur faces many dangers. Some would kill him for being the prince, while others simply for being my son. Merlin, I ask you to swear to me, by everything you hold dear, that I am not wrong. Swear that you are loyal to Arthur, and you will lay down your life to protect him. By all means that are available to you."

Merlin felt a cold chill crawl up your back. Yet as he looked at Uther, he didn't see the menacing King many feared, but rather a father looking out for his son.

"Sire, my wish is to see Arthur become the greatest King the world has ever seen," Merlin answered honestly. "I will do everything I can to help him get there. I swear to you, that all I want is for Arthur to fulfill his destiny."

"Good," Uther said, and Merlin could see his face changing to that of the King of Camelot. "Then know, you do not have to fear for your life while you stay true to your word."

Merlin nodded, too dumbstruck to speak. He bowed, turning to leave. Just as he was about to open the door, he heard Uther speak once more.

"And Merlin? I won't tell Arthur, but take my advice – don't keep it a secret from him for too long. Trust is fragile."


	6. Chapter 6

Merlin looked around the tiny room he was renting, letting out a long sigh. He had managed to find a job working in a local tavern, and was tired after a long day's work. Days like today, he yearned for the past, days when he worked for Arthur. Because even though Arthur would pile chores on him, he would use magic, or just ignore them all together, and that would be the norm of life.

But not anymore.

It's been a few months since he left Camelot, walked away and never turned back. He told himself time and time again that he did what was right. That his execution would bring nothing; that he had to leave before the morning light, before Arthur had a chance to talk to his father.

For the longest time, he just walked. It didn't really matter where, so long as it put some distance between himself and his past. He had to get away from it all, go to a place where no one would recognize him, and give himself a chance to start a new life. This was the first town that had given him the opportunity to do so. The people seemed okay, there wasn't a lot of visitors, and Merlin allowed himself to think that maybe, just maybe, he'd be safe here.

When he heard his door creak, he cursed himself twelve times over. He was hiding from the best, he had no right to relax and put his legs up.

He turned around slowly, trying to formulate some plan of escape that didn't involve magic (he didn't want any extra attention brought to himself), but of course that was impossible. There was only one exit, and jumping out a second story window just didn't scream quiet.

He could feel his jaw drop to the floor when he saw the crowned Prince of Camelot standing on his doorstep, looking pissed.

"Arthur?" he asked, trying to hide the slight quiver in his voice. Why would Arthur come himself? Why didn't he just send someone else to kill him, or to bring him back to be executed? Did the prince want the honor of bringing in a sorcerer for himself?

"How dare you?" Arthur asked, his voice quiet, and yet full of anger that Merlin had never seen before. "How dare you just walk out like that? What gives you the right to just walk away, Merlin?"

"Arthur…"

Arthur cut him off, not letting him say another word. "No, Merlin, I'm talking right now."

He came closer, and Merlin could feel the anger radiating. He wanted to back away, to find some sort of shelter.

"You drop a bomb on me, you tell me that you, my closest friend, have been lying to me for years, and then you just disappear like that? For God's sake, Merlin, what did you expect me to do? To smile, nod, and go on about my day? Did you expect me to be at all angry at you? And running away, really Merlin? You can face down countless beasts and bandits, but I scare you? I've been trying to track you down for months, Gaius is worried sick, Gwen spent nights crying because her friend just up and left in the middle of the night. I never thought you could be so selfish, Merlin!"

"Arthur, what…"

"What did you think was going to happen?" Arthur continued, not even bothering to acknowledge the fact that Merlin was speaking. "Did you think I was going to skip off to father, la-di-da, and tell him you're a sorcerer? 'Oh hey, father, I feel like seeing my friend burn to a crisp today, do you think the weather's prime for an execution in the morning'? Why couldn't you let me deal with it as your friend? You've never seen me as a prince first, Merlin, what in the world convinced you to start now?"

"Arthur…"

"Why didn't you at least tell Gaius where you were going? Why didn't you take Gwaine or Lancelot with you? Did you know how pissed they were when you disappeared? They were just about ready to hang me for whatever I had done, because, well, no one thought you'd be _stupid_ enough to just take off. We've spent the last months searching for you, trying to figure out if you were dead, or captured, or alive."

Merlin didn't even try to speak, but Arthur was done. Now, he was just standing there, looking for an answer. His anger seemed to drain out of him, leaving looking broken.

"Just… Tell me you had a reason, Merlin. Tell me you didn't leave because you though I was going to kill you."

Merlin looked down at the ground, finding the floor to be fascinating. He didn't know what to say. He had no idea how to make this all better. Arthur freaked after Merlin told him where he was, and for a second, he really did worry about his life. He allowed fear to guide him, and in the time to come, he chose to never question the logistics of his actions. He simply ran.

"You can't do that, can you?" Arthur asked, but Merlin still refused to look him in the eye. "Well, you're free to come back whenever you wish."

Arthur turned to leave, having said his peace.

"I'm sorry, Arthur," Merlin said just as Arthur was about to open the door. "I wasn't thinking. I let fear get the best of me. I just ran. It seemed so simple, and I just didn't want to deal with anything anymore. It… It was an excuse to get away. So much had happened, and finally, I could just turn and walk away, and fool myself into thinking that it was because you were going to kill me anyway. I am so, so sorry."

Arthur turned around, and this time Merlin looked him right in the eye. "I know there's nothing I can say to make this better; the running, the lying, and I'm not even going to try. I just hope you can understand."

"Understand what, Merlin? How can I understand anything if you're not willing to talk to me?"

"Sit down, Arthur, you're in for a long night."


End file.
